Electronic health record (ERR) and electronic medical record (EMR) systems have been widely embraced by medical facilities and providers. (EHR and EMR will be referred to interchangeably herein.) For example, EMR is the principal information system at many hospitals that allows the healthcare provider to read in real-time medical information from the EMR, and (for example) enter diagnosis, treatment plan for a patient. Although some EMRs provide a way for its data to be distributed or queried by third party providers, there is generally a significant latency in getting the information. For example, if a doctor enters an update or orders and exam for a patient in the EMR, it can take several minutes for that update or order to reach a third party provider. This latency/delay can be unacceptable in some instances as in can, for example, delay care or result in medical error if a change in the order is not timely received.
Furthermore, not all clinical information is available via the native EMR distribution mechanisms mentioned above. For example, in many EMR, the healthcare provider can define unique screens and fields that are not part of the standard screens and fields provided by the standard EMR distribution. Often, those proprietary fields are not made available by the EMR to third party applications.